Antawn Jamison scored 25 points, LeBron James just missed a triple-double and the Cleveland Cavaliers advanced to a playoff date with Boston by beating Chicago 96-94 in Game 5 on Tuesday night in perhaps Vinny Del Negro's final game as Bulls coach.

James, favoring a tender right elbow that appears to hurt worse than he's letting on, scored 19 points -- 16 in the second half -- and added 10 rebounds and nine assists as the Cavs finally saddled the stubborn Bulls to win the series 4-1. Unable to lift his right arm, James was forced to shoot a free throw left-handed with 7.8 seconds left.

Cleveland will face the Celtics, reuniting teams that don't like each other and who played a testy seven-game series in 2008.

Sure, basketball is a team game... but individual performances can still spell the difference between playoff success and failure. In this feature, we take a look at the players who made the biggest impact, good or bad, on the day's results. Which player made the most efficient use of his offensive touches to help his team win the game? Which player's misses cost his team a shot at victory?

Here's what we've got...

Let us know how we did. Did we choose the right guys? Who would you add or subtract?

Sure, basketball is a team game... but individual performances can still spell the difference between playoff success and failure. A player with a hot hand can crush defensive morale, and whip the arena in to a frenzy. Meanwhile, if the team's lead scorer goes ice cold, it normally takes a Herculean effort to overcome the missed opportunities.

Without further ado, we present the heros and goats for Sunday's matchups.

Let us know how we did. Did we choose the right guys? Who would you add or subtract?

Welcome to the 2010 NBA Playoffs Simulation series! Each morning, we'll get an early look at the day's action by running a complete simulation of each and every contest. We then give you all the stats and highlights, so we can see just how close the game comes to reality.

The gang over at 2KSports.com has been nice enough to help us run the show, using full length games on NBA2K10.

In a shocking start to the NBA postseason, the Bulls upset the top-seeded Cavs, 98-91. Derrick Rose is the player of the game, racking up 24 points and 15 assists. LeBron has a rough night, scoring only 15 as the Cleveland came out flat in the second half.

Dwight Howard vs. every center Larry Brown has ever coached. Well, it only seems that way with Nazr Mohammad and Theo Ratliff among the big men Brown can send at Howard in waves – mostly just to foul him. Between putting Howard (a 59 percent free-throw shooter) on the line and forcing the Magic to become to 3-point happy, Brown will have a field day trying to win this series by himself.

Brandon Jennings vs. Mike Bibby. The Bucks’ rookie point guard proved beyond any doubt that he was ready for the NBA stage. There’s no reason to think he’ll shrink from the playoff spotlight – especially if Bibby has to defend him for long stretches.

Dwyane Wade vs. Ray Allen. As is usually the case, the shooting guard matchup is Miami’s advantage. But in this case, it works at both ends of the floor. If Allen takes a beating against Wade on the defensive end, how will his legs hold up when sizing up crucial 3-pointers on the other end? For that reason, look for Paul Pierce to get plenty of Wade duty, with Allen switching off to Quentin Richardson, who does all his damage standing beyond the 3-point line.

Western Conference

Ron Artest vs. Kevin Durant. Losing 14 pounds during the season, Artest is much quicker on his feet than he was early on. He has the strength to frustrate Durant, but still doesn't have the quickness to guard him the entire game; Kobe Bryant will have to take him on for stretches.

Nuggets bench vs. Jazz bench. This could be the deciding factor in the series. If J.R. Smith shoots it well and plays smart (for him), the Nuggets could have a big edge along with Chris "Birdman" Andersen and speedy point guard Ty Lawson.